


Que sera...

by shouldavwornsunscreen



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, WynHaught brotp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-06 05:30:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11593932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shouldavwornsunscreen/pseuds/shouldavwornsunscreen
Summary: Nicole and Waverly have been through a lot already, but they have a long way to go before they earn their rest.  Mostly cannon compliant.Update: add a prologue-esk chapter at the beginning to hopefully help point this in the right direction.





	1. Right, and you are...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new lens to view the WayHaught interactions through, that I've been struggling with how to incorporate into this fic.

**Welcome to Purgatory!**

The sign was cheesy, with its fake family still trying to escape the 50s, but Nicole smiled up at it. With a car full of her belongings, Nicole was feeling good. This town was gonna change her life—she knew it in the same way she knew she was supposed to be a cop, or knew she liked women. Sure, it was small, and far enough away from the nearest city that you could actually see all the stars at night, but this was gonna be big for her.

A glaze fell over her vision, and ripples of the past rushed through her mind. Taking a deep breath, she sorted through them. She nodded to the carriage driver from the 1860’s, and flashed her gun at some glow-y eyed freak. (She’d never been quite sure what the people in her visions saw when they looked at her, but that was their problem.) Calamity Jane hissed at a wolf from before anyone had settled this land, and Nicole dug one hand into the fur of the cat’s neck.

Idly, she wondered if she knew anyone in Purgatory from a past life. That happened occasionally: her soul would recognize someone, and Nicole would have to figure out what to do with the informational flood. The most awkward moment had been when she walked into her high school calculus class and realized the teacher had killed her in the land feud 600 years before, and again because her brother eloped with his wife. She might have transferred out of his class (no one needs to know their teacher has it out for them) but he was funny and charming, and she’d learned too much from him to let ancient history get in the way. Maybe there would be someone here like that.

…

“Oh, SHIT!” Nicole griped the steering wheel of the police cruiser until her knuckles turned white, fighting the urge to duck down. That black man walking into the precinct—yup, she knew him. He was about twice as big as when she’d last seen him, and had a strange edge to his presence she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but some souls are unforgettable, especially when you’ve spent the last few thousand years locked in combat of all kinds. Her chest ached where he’d shot her during a gang war in the 20’s (she’d have to remember to wear her vest whenever she could get away with it) and she wondered if he remembered the katana through his groin during the 8th century. Hopefully not.

She was supposed to go in and write up her report about fetching Mrs. Thompson’s cat from her tree (again). There had to be somewhere else she could go. Her eyes fell on Shorty’s. It was the local watering hole, and she hadn’t managed a visit yet. Besides, the waitress/barmaid was popular, one of those people that you had to be friends with to make it in a small town. That was it! She wasn’t running away from an enemy, she was familiarizing herself with critical new ground. Trying to convince herself, she pulled up out front of the saloon and climbed out of the car. Not bothering to put her Stetson on her head, she pulled open the first door.

Nicole looked across the empty bar to the girl behind the counter, leaning against the door frame for strength as the realization washed over her: she knew this woman! Like, knew this woman! As in, spent every lifetime searching for, finding, saving, and loving this woman!

“YAGH!! Jeez! Jesus! Ugh. Perfect.”

“I didn’t know Shorty’s had wet t-shirt competitions.” She might have put her head in her hands and groaned at the words that escaped, but it wasn’t the worst introduction they’d had, so she just grinned, working to suppress a laugh. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I-uh, just a bit jumpy—” Nicole walked forward to close the gap, glad that her Heart was still smiling, but ready to go after whoever had made her so nervous, “—had a crazy night.” “Sorry I wasn’t here to see it.” She put her hat down on the counter between them, suddenly unsure of how best to deal with the love-of-my-life situation. “I’ve been meaning to introduce myself: I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.” She expected some life altering sensation when their hands touched, but there was only the sensation that this was right.

“Hi.”

“And you’re Waverly Earp.” Nicole tried to savor the way those syllables felt in her mouth, tucking the sensation away for later. “Quite a popular girl around here.”

“Well, you know, it’s all in the ‘smile and wave’.” Oh, that smile.

“Yeah…Can I get a cappuccino to go?” Nicole couldn’t resist the urge to slip in a reference to when they’d met in their last life, but she wasn’t surprised when Waverly missed it.

“Oooh, I’m really sorry. We’re not actually open yet, so…”

“Oh, right. Okay, my bad. It’s just, when I see something I like, I don’t wanna wait.” So, staring right at her during that last part was a little bold, but, in some lives, Waverly was incredibly oblivious, and Nicole had always found the direct approach worked best. “And your door was open.”

This was gonna be one of those lives. Waverly missed the subtext (if it could even be called that) and looked toward the physical door. “Right.” She looked down at herself. “God, I’m sopping wet. I keep telling Shorty he needs to fix the darn taps. Sorry, do you mind just…?”

Nicole nearly laughed, both at Waverly’s unintended extension of her come on, and at the idea that the brunette’s body should be hidden from her. Still, centuries of training had ingrained a deep sense of honor, so she turned around for Waverly’s sake.

“Oh, crap! Officer, I’m stuck.”

Nicole nearly chocked on the memories that brought. Looking around, she chuckled at the waitress’s dilemma, moving quickly around the bar to help.

“I’ve got you.”

“Good job you’re not some guy, right? Or this would be reeeally, really awkward.”

Nicole saw the exact moment her own undisguised desire registered in Waverly’s mind. She ducked her head a little, not wanting to come off as overpowering, but didn’t move away. Waverly’s arms moved to cover her chest, and Nicole sucked on her bottom lip to keep from smiling too broadly. It wouldn’t take long before she saw a lot more then the unassuming bra.

“I owe you.”

“Alright. How about you buy me that cup of coffee? How about tonight?”

“Oh, I can’t. I mean I’d love to—” her face scrunched adorably as if she didn’t understand where that enthusiasm came from “—like to, yeah, but I have plans. Yeeah, I’m a planner. I like to know what I’m doing two, or three, days in advance.” She shook her head as if to clear it, realizing that her explanation only delayed Nicole’s offer. “I’m in a relationship with a boy—man!”

“A boy-man? I’ve been there. It’s the worst.” This would not be the first life Nicole had taken Waverly from a man’s arms. She regarded those men as stewards, responsible for keeping her Heart safe until they could find each other. She could be patient.  Moving back around the bar, she collected her hat and slapped down a business card. “Okay, well, some other time.” She took a step away, feeling Waverly’s gaze on her ass.

“I mean it.”


	2. Good Morning Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jumps ahead in time. Assume that everything happened like it did in the show, but imagine what Nicole's thinking when she says and does it all.  
> After everything they've been through, Nicole and Waverly deserve a quiet morning to prepare themselves for everything they still have to face.

Waverly bent down, gently fluttering kisses across Nicole’s hairline. Nicole didn’t stir, but a breeze crept in through the open window, ruffling Waverly’s hair and brushing a strand across Nicole’s face. Tucking the strand back behind her ear, Waverly took a moment to just absorb the happiness that Nicole had brought into her life. She searched her memory, trying to decide if she had ever seen anything more beautiful than the powerful woman in her arms. She tried to pinpoint a moment when she had felt more complete, more whole, than staring down at her girlfriend’s relaxed features.

“What’s that look for?” Nicole’s sleepy voice broke into her musings.

“Just…nothing,” Waverly chuckled softly, her hair falling back across her face. Nicole reached up and guided it back behind her ear.

“How are you?” she asked, staring meaningfully into Waverly’s eyes.

“Alright.” Waverly meant it to be reassuring, but her smile broke on the second syllable.

“Hey babe,” Nicole said, recapturing Waverly’s attention. “You don’t have to hide from me anymore.”

“Think you can handle all the Earp?” Though she tried to keep the words light, Nicole saw through the self-deprecating humor. She wanted to reassure the smaller woman, but felt sure that if Waverly wasn't confronting the insecurities directly, it was because she wasn't ready to. 

“Well, I wouldn’t want to handle the Willa,” Nicole smiled, sitting up just enough to peck Waverly on the lips, “and I’m sure the Wynonna can handle herself,” she said, pecking again, “so that leaves plenty of time for the important sister.” She pulled Waverly down into a lingering kiss, seeking to reassure her through that single action.

“Um, I think you got a little confused on those last two,” Waverly said as she pulled away, hovering over Nicole.

“Well, you can take care of yourself,” Nicole conceded, playing with the tips of Waverly’s hair. “But then I would have had to pull peacemaker into my little speech, and it was already way too long.”

“Ah-ha,” Waverly smiled, raising an eyebrow. “You couldn’t just switch the names?”

“Hell no,” Nicole shook her head, growing serious. “You need to hear how important you are. Sometimes you seem to forget.” Waverly clenched her jaw and swallowed hard. As many times as she’d told herself that Wynonna being the heir didn’t make her any less, sometimes it was nice to hear it from someone else.

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

“Have you looked in a mirror recently?”

“I’m serious,” Waverly insisted, pushing herself back up into a sitting position. “I thought I had it all figured out, and I’m stubborn, believe me, I know. Then you come riding in, and change my whole world. My knight with shining Stetson.”

“That’s a fun image,” Nicole mused, “but—“

“No buts,” Waverly interjected. “You show me what love is supposed to be, save my sister and me, and take out my homophobic ex-boyfriend, all while casually accepting the whole supernatural, revenant, mind-blowing reality.”

“Clothes-lining Chase was one of the highlights of my life,” Nicole admitted with a smirk. “That felt good.”

“Then the whole possession thing…”

“Shh, shh, shh.” Nicole sat up and wrapped Waverly in her arms, trying to push away images of those warm browns eyes suddenly oozing darkness.

“I…”

“Don’t have to talk about it,” Nicole finished for her, holding her closer. “It’s over. You’re home now.”

“Will they ever go away?” Waverly whimpered, her face buried so deep in Nicole’s shoulder that the words were barely comprehensible.

“I don’t know babe,” Nicole admitted, rocking back and forth gently. Try as she might, Nicole couldn’t think of anything to say to make it better. So, they just sat there, rocking back and forth. Nicole heard the soft gasp a second before she felt the wetness spill onto her shoulder, and she readjusted her position, pulling Waverly into her lap as much as possible. Her heart nearly broke in two as the spunky and vivacious spit fire curled up against her, weeping unabashedly.

“You know I’m here for you?”

“Yeah,” Waverly sniffled.

“We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”

“Okay,” Waverly nodded. “Do you see any—“

“Tissue?” Nicole guessed, looking around. “There’s some of the night stand.”

“That’s too far away,” Waverly shuddered.

“Hey, this is what baggy t-shirts are for,” Nicole smiled. “The police department serves in all sorts of ways.” Her joke was rewarded with a half-smile before the dark memories reclaimed Waverly. They sat in silence, Nicole combing her hand through Waverly’s hair, and stroking her back. They lost track of the time: Nicole too focused on being whatever Waverly needed, and Waverly in too much pain to care.

“Are you guys decent?” Wynonna’s voice floated in as the door cracked open. She appeared around the door, her hand over her face, but her fingers spread wide. When she saw Waverly, her face filled with concern.

“Rough morning,” Nicole offered in lieu of an explanation. Wynonna nodded, and made her to the bed.

“It’s not fair.”

“What?” Waverly asked when Wynonna hesitated.

“You’re a pretty crier.” 

Waverly laughed at the unexpected compliment, reaching up to wipe away some of her tears.

“Better?” she asked.

“Nah,” Wynonna shook her head. “Still too pretty for my good.” Waverly smiled a moment longer before growing serious again.

“Do we have to go?”

“Yeah,” Wynonna grimaced. “I know you don’t want to do this, but we need to know.” Waverly nodded, but curled deeper into Nicole.

“So, I bet you think you’re pretty smart,” Wynonna demanded, staring at Nicole.

“Me?” Nicole blurted, floundering with the sudden change in conversation. “Smart? What?”

“You think this whole possessed rampage thing was enough to distract me from the fact that you’re dating my sister.” 

“No,” Nicole drawled, staring down at Waverly’s confused face and wondering what Wynonna had up her sleeve.

“Oh, I think you did,” Wynonna nodded. “But you’re wrong. This here is my baby sister and you break her heart and I’ll—“

“Shoot me?” Nicole interrupted, as understanding dawned. “We’ve already established I’m bulletproof. What is it with your family wanting to take me out? I mean, I’ve heard of protective sisters before, but this seems a little extreme.”

“What can I say?” Wynonna smirked. “We like a challenge.”

“Me too,” Nicole answered with a smirk of her own. She felt Waverly chuckle, and nodded at Wynonna to keep going.

“Bullets aren’t the only way to suffer,” Wynonna observed, her brow twitching maniacally, “especially since I know where you sleep.”

“Yeah, but your sister sleeps here too…” Nicole responded, taping her chin as if considering the problem. “Might make it a little counterproductive.”

“Oh, you’re good Haught.”

“You’re not so bad looking yourself.”

“Couldn’t resist?”

“I’ve heard ‘em all my life,” Nicole shrugged. “Figured it was my turn.”

“Do you think you can hold off on the feud while I get dressed?” Waverly asked, peering up at Nicole.

“I don’t know,” Wynonna shook her head. “Feels like this one wants to pick a fight.”

“No ma’am,” Nicole said, tipping her imaginary Stetson and emphasizing her accent. “I’m an officer o’ the peace.” Wynonna glared at her as Waverly laughed and slunk across the bed, slipping into the closet. Nicole held up her fist, and Wynonna bumped her knuckles before Nicole took off for the closet to get dressed for the long day ahead.

“I’m still here,” Wynonna called as Nicole disappeared around the door.

“Don’t care,” Nicole shot back, stopping long enough to kiss Waverly’s neck on her way past. Waverly leaned back into the contact, and Nicole relished in it for just a moment before forcing herself to push away and get ready.

“Don’t make me come back there,” Wynonna called again.

“You have a dirty mind,” Nicole responded, stripping her night shirt off and pulling on her jeans.

“Nicole?”

“What’s up Waves?”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.” She slipped a light blue shirt over her head before reaching up and working a brush through her surprisingly knotted hair. While her hands were busy, Waverly crossed the little space between them, pressing their lips together as her hands came to rest on her girlfriend’s hips.

“What was that for?” Nicole asked when Waverly settled back down on her heels.

“Because I could,” Waverly shrugged. Nicole reached down and pulled Waverly close again, returning the lingering kiss.

“I’m glad.” 

Waverly smiled shyly as she turned back to her side of the closet, finally settling on a pair of old jeans and a comfortable flannel. Nicole opened the gun safe she'd insisted on installing when she had started spending more nights at the homestead than her own apartment, retrieving her firearm and checking the safety before tucking it into her sock. 

“How long does it take to pick a shirt?” Wynonna called.

“About this long,” Waverly called back. “But we have to pick two.” She shot Nicole a knowing look and waited for her sister’s response.

“Ugh. Will it always be this bad?”

“Hopefully worse,” Nicole shrugged, reentering the room as she took Waverly’s hand.

“I’m watching you Haught.”

“That’s pronounced hawk,” Waverly put in, “as in ‘like a’.”

“Oh, so you’re on her side now?” Nicole asked in disbelief, staring between the sisters.

“No, but it’s so much more fun to go behind her back when she thinks she knows what’s happening.” 

Nicole couldn’t resist pressing a quick kiss to Waverly’s grinning lips.

“Now I have to watch both of you,” Wynonna lamented, standing from the bed and moving to the door.

“No rest for the wicked,” Nicole smirked as she walked past, grabbing Waverly’s coat from the rack and holding it up.

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” Wynonna grabbed Nicole’s jacket and took off. “Let’s move!”

“I need that!” Nicole called, rolling her eyes.

“Whiner!” 

Nicole considered running after Wynonna, sure that she could catch her without too much difficulty, but Waverly snuggled into her side. Putting an arm around the smaller woman’s shoulders, Nicole moved down the hall.

“Do you think it will hurt?”

“I don’t know,” Nicole admitted unwillingly. “You know more about this stuff than I do.”

“If Dolls does the ceremony I think he will, it probably will.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have told me,” Nicole grimaced, imagining the agony of watching anyone hurt Waverly for any reason.

“Maybe I’m hoping you’ll take Dolls out before it comes to that,” Waverly chuckled darkly.

“Waves…”

“I’m kidding,” Waverly assured her, snuggling a little closer, “I just…I just wish this had never happened.”

“Me too,” Nicole agreed, letting out a breath and squeezing Waverly’s shoulder. There was a crash from the kitchen, followed by a string of curses from Wynonna, but Nicole didn’t try to hurry the pace. She was trying to pretend she couldn’t feel Waverly’s shaking, even while knowing that the brunette’s mind had to be racing.


	3. It's a Virtue She Lacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, Nicole is bad at being patient

“What could be taking so long?” Nicole demanded, wringing her hands together. She glared at the door to office, willing it to open. She’d expected to hear screams, and see flashes of light. The silence was worse.

“Here.”

Nicole turned toward Wynonna’s voice, reaching mechanically to take the to-go cup she offered. The coffee nearly scalded her tongue, but she didn’t care. Even the small distraction was welcome as she continued pacing every available inch between Nedley’s office and the back room.

“Sorry it’s not stronger.” The smile Wynonna offered almost made Nicole laugh. She breathed a chuckle, remembering walking in on Wynonna that morning as she was hurrying to clean up what had been a bottle of whiskey.

 

 

_“Stupid kid!” Wynonna griped, using a towel to mop up the quickly spreading liquid. Waverly had quickly left the room to get an actual mop while Nicole moved into the kitchen to help Wynonna gather the larger pieces of glass._

_“_ _What happened?”_

_"The punk kicked me!” The elder Earp gestured toward her stomach._

_“_ _The baby kicked?” Waverly asked, coming back and getting to work._

 _“_ _Right on my bladder!” Wynonna confirmed. “I was grabbing this—for Doc—” she was quick to reassure them, “and then I was nearly peeing my pants, and it slipped.”_

_Nicole had had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. Of course Wynonna’s baby would already be able to recognize alcohol. Though if the little one could already make such a big mess, Nicole didn’t want to imagine how much work the three of them were in for. She flushed a little at the idea that she’d be allowed to stick around that long. Unconsciously, her eyes slid to Waverly, wondering if her girlfriend was picturing that far ahead._

 

 

“We’ve done the ‘stronger’ thing. Twice.” Nicole grimaced, coming back to the present with the less-than-pleasant memory of the wicked hangover she’d suffered through after their trip to Pussy Willows.

“So young and innocent,” Wynonna smirked. “Adorable too.”

Nicole opened her mouth to retort that hitting a power box from across the room while seeing at least two of everything should count more as bad-ass than adorable, but something scraped against the office door, and the words died on her lips as both she and Wynonna froze. They waited, staring at the door handle for a long minute.

“Still nothing,” Nicole muttered. Wynonna wandered across to the door, listened for a moment, and then settled onto a nearby bench. Almost before she’d sat down, she was readjusting. Eventually she ended up on the floor, leaning back against the wall.

“It’ll be okay,” she reassured the still restless officer.

“How do you know that?”

“Because Jeremy is scared of Dolls, and Dolls cares about Waverly too. Bad at showing it, but whatever.”

The logic was simple, and sound. Still, Nicole had never been good at sitting on the sidelines, especially when someone she loved was involved. She was much better at the “protect and serve” and “put yourself in danger to save others” than the “wait patiently while your girlfriend goes through who knows what.” She wanted to break down the door, and only the idea that she might interrupt some extremely delicate, super important…thing kept her from following through. She grasped the ring on her left hand, rubbing at the cool metal to help get herself under control.

“Haught!” Nedley’s voice surprised them both. “What are you doing here on your day off?”

“Waverly needed something from the other office, sir,” Nicole replied, attempting a casual shrug. She wasn’t sure how much he was supposed to know, so she decided to be vague and leave any further explanations to Dolls. The sheriff didn’t seem too keen on knowing what happened in the commandeered part of his station, so Nicole didn’t think he’d press her. All around, it seemed like the best plan.

“Earp? What are you doing on the floor?”

“Making you ask questions,” Wynonna retorted, raising an eyebrow at her sometimes nemesis.

They stared at each other until Nedley cleared his throat and moved away. Nicole thought she caught something like “don’t know why I bother” but she wasn’t quite sure. She watched her boss disappear into his office, and forced herself to sit down. It was one thing to try and wear a hole in the floor while only Wynonna was around to witness it. If Nedley saw, not only would it spark more questions than Nicole wanted to answer, but it might affect her work life as well. She took another sip of her coffee, and, discovering that it was quickly losing its heat, chugged it down. It was neither strong, nor particularly tasty, but it gave her something to do. When the liquid was gone, she fiddled with the empty cup: removing the lid to stare inside, twisting the cheap plastic into various shapes—just to see how flexible it was—dragging her blunt fingernails against the outside of the cup in meaningless patterns. She eyed the trash can sitting about ten feet away, and was just considering how elaborate a shot she could feasibly make when Wynonna shot to her feet.

“Gotta pee.” She hurried around the corner. After a moment’s consideration, Nicole followed the nearly waddling woman, hurrying to open the door before Wynonna could get there.

“Such a gentleman.”

They wandered inside the bathroom, and Nicole leaned against the further of the two sinks while Wynonna squeezed herself into the middle stall. It probably didn’t need to take as much effort as Wynonna expended, but it was amusing.

“So…” Wynonna drawled, her voice echo-y and tinny in the strange acoustics.

“Is this awkward?” Nicole asked. She’d grown up in a small house with a big family, so sometimes usual social boundaries didn’t register until it was too late.

“A little,” Wynonna confessed. “But I understand not wanting to be alone.”

Nicole rubbed her eyes, wishing that Wynonna hadn’t seen through her so easily. Sure, she was right, but it seemed pathetic to be so transparent.  For her part, Wynonna sat on the toilet, wanting to say something, but not quite sure what.  She thought back to the long nights after her father's death, remembering how loud the silence roared in her ears as all the self-recriminations competed to drown her.  That situation wasn't even close to this one, but the elder Earp wondered if Nicole was struggling against darker memories of her own.  She cast around for anything to break the silence between them, considering and discarding several ham-fisted attempts at talking about their emotions.  That wasn't her strong point anyway. 

“Tell me the least interesting thing about you.”

“What?” Nicole laughed, taken aback by the request. Wynonna stayed silent, waiting for the answer. “Okay. I guess it’s that I graduated high school right on schedule.”

“That makes one of us.” The toilet flushed and Wynonna emerged from the stall. She moved to wash her hands at the other sink. Nicole cursed internally for not considering that what seemed mundane for her, the things she’d taken for granted, could be someone else’s pipe dream.

“What does Dolls expect to find?” she asked, trying to divert the tension she’d caused.

“Hopefully nothing.” Wynonna dried her hands and then exited the bathroom. Nicole followed. The office door opened just as they came back around the corner.

“Waves!”

The brunette smiled shakily, reaching out for her girlfriend. Nicole hugged her tightly before holding her at arm’s length and checking for any sign of injury. Impatient, Wynonna cut the examination short and collected her sister for a hug. They swayed back and forth a little, unintentionally inching further away from the still nervous officer. Nicole tore her eyes away to meet Dolls’s gaze.

“So?”

“Everything checks out,” he assured her.

Jeremy skidded around the corner, an unfamiliar instrument in his hand. “Hey, could we—” When it lit up, his words died. Following its direction, his eyes came to rest on Nicole. He moved the device, pointing it at Waverly and Wynonna. The light almost disappeared, sinking into a weak, barely perceptible flicker. He pointed it at Dolls. The light pulsed, slow but steady. Taking a deep breath, he pointed it at Nicole again and the indicator blazed to life.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I finally felt the need to add something to this wonderful pairing, even if it is just in the form of loosely-cannon-ish ramblings. No promises on updates, but hopefully somewhat regularly. It's my first fic, so I'm still on the learning curve.
> 
> Always open to constructive comments and suggestions as to what you'd like to see.


End file.
